Chicago Fed's Evans calls for 'substantial' easing (by Steve Goldstein)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who dissented from the last two Fed decisions on the grounds that the economy needed more stimulus, on Wednesday said he was in favor of "substantial" additional accommodation as he reiterated his idea for the central bank to keep rates at low levels until unemployment falls below 7% or inflation reaches 3% over the medium term. While the economy is looking "somewhat better" than a few months ago, there isn't a massive surge in economic activity, he said. Evans called the Fed's new communications strategy of releasing interest rate forecasts "a substantial, first-order improvement" that can improve how the economy operates. Evans won't be a voting member this year but gets a vote again in 2013.